Akumatised
by Ketsui Tasogare
Summary: Cat Noir was Akumatised but has no memory of it and is weighed down by guilt. He and Ladybug are trying to jog his memory and deal with the consequences and where they stand as partners and friends, maybe even something more. They both need to deal with what happened and how to move on together.
1. Chapter 1

Akumatised

Yo guys, it has been way too long since I have added something and admittedly I haven't been writing in a while because I have been trying to think about my life and what exactly I want to do and I've been in a slum for a while but after opening a word document and just typing with no plan whatsoever or idea, this story idea was born and I hope you'll enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Ladybug: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir

* * *

He sat up and groaned. His head was pounding as he looked around. He was on the roof of a building-the same building they'd fought Oblivio, the sun was going down and he had absolutely no idea how he got there.

He tried to get up but his legs failed him, still shaky. He was about to fall over again but something or rather someone caught him and sat him back down.

"You shouldn't try to get up so fast" Ladybug spoke softly her eyes shining with intense relief

But why? Did something go wrong? He thought to himself.

"Ladybug, what happened?" he saw her visibly flinch "We were chasing an Akuma around the city, did you catch it?"

"Cat...we weren't chasing it. I was." she could see the confusion on his face, she took a breath before carrying on "It was chasing _you_"

"It—what? That doesn't make any sense, why would an Akuma be after me, unless..." the realisation hit him with enough force that he was glad he she'd made him sit again

"You were..."

"I was..."

"Akumatised" the said in unison

"But I don't understand, how could that have happened? What happened to me?" he buried his face in his hands in distress

She wrapped her arms around him, her head on his shoulder.

"I was hoping you could tell me but don't worry, kitty. We're going to figure this out"

There were so many things going through his head as he tried recalling any kind of information about him being akumatised but so far it was all just blank. All he wanted was to enjoy the moment being embraced by the person he cared so much about but a chilling thought brought him back to reality.

He broke away from the hug but her arms rested on his shoulders, the severity of everything suddenly weighing him down. His powers in the wrong hands…

"What happened to the city, did I hurt anyone? Did I...did I hurt you?" his heart was pounding waiting for her reply as he looked her in the eyes

She released a heavy shaky sigh.

"My Miraculous cure fixed everything like always but before it...you destroyed half the city, a lot of people got hurt..." her eyes were filled with tears as were his

"And what about you?" he asked almost in a whisper; his eyes searching hers for an answer he was afraid of finding out.

"Cat, I'm fine now so it doesn't-" she felt his shoulders slack and he bowed his head

"Ladybug please..."

"Yes I got hurt trying to save you" she tried to spare his feelings

"You _really_ mean that I hurt you" tears left his eyes as he stood up and walked away from her

She stood up after him. The last rays of sunshine shone over his golden hair. He balled his hands into fists.

"I can't do this anymore" he looked at the ring on his finger

"What do you mean?" she stood near him

"I can't be Cat Noir, I'm done"

* * *

And there you have it, the beginning already having a cliffhanger, all this just flowed like wow, I'm kinda shocked i thought of this so on the spot but here it is. Let me know what you think so far with a review and don't forget to fave and follow to keep up.

Until next time:

Ketsui Tasogare :-)


	2. Chapter 2

And I'm back with another chapter of Akumatised. Sorry for the delay, I was actually done with chapter 2 a while ago but started working on chapter 3 (which I'm almost done with) before uploading chapter 2. But I'm finally uploading it!

Hope you enjoy the chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir

* * *

Chapter 2: Trust

The black clad hero was ready to give it all up. The more he looked at his ring the more he wanted it gone, just so he could forget everything he'd just heard. The sun had just set taking the remaining light with it. The lights around the city began to turn on, all flickering dots from their view so high up.

Ladybug could see the turmoil he was going through, she walked closer and stood next to him. She looked at him forcing his eyes shut and slightly shaking, she put her hand over his and rubbed her thumb over his ring.

"Cat..." she started

"I don't think there's anything that can change my mind"

"We still don't even know what happened, can't we at least figure it out first before you make your decision?"

He finally opened his eyes and looked at her for what seemed like an eternity before looking back to the city.

"I—I should go. We should go, it's getting late" he sounded defeated as he turned to walk away but Ladybug caught his wrist.

"But we're still going to talk about this, tomorrow" he remained silent

"Cat, promise me I'll see you tomorrow"

He sighed before nodding then climbing on the ledge with his staff in hand.

"I'm sorry, Ladybug" he said before jumping off and propelling himself with his staff

"I'm sorry too, Cat Noir" she watched him disappear before swinging off the building

It was just after nine p.m. and Adrien had just showered and changed into his sleepwear

"So you're just not going to tell her the reason you were Akumatised in the first place?" Plagg asked while enjoying a slice of Camembert while Adrien was laying on his bed

"I can't tell her. Not yet at least" he was looking at the ceiling

"How is that supposed to work out? You're meeting her tomorrow. You know how she feels about being lied to"

"It's not lying..." he tried to defend

"No of course not, it's just keeping the full story from her" Plagg retorted sarcastically

"Can we drop this, please?" he sat up

His tone made Plagg put down his cheese and look at him.

Adrien was hurting.

"I just don't know how to feel about all this. These are your powers but I was the using them to do all those terrible things to the city, the people...and Ladybug. I know I wasn't in control but I still did it" he brushed a hand through his hair and lay back down on his back.

"You can't blame yourself for how you felt, Adrien. Everyone experiences negative emotions from time to time. It's because of Hawk Moth that they get exploited, that yours got exploited especially since he's..., well never mind that part. I get negative emotions too you know, like I get really sad or angry when my precious Camembert is gone but it disappears as soon as you replace it"

Adrien rolled his eyes and smiled.

"You're really going to compare my situation to you wanting more cheese, really Plagg?" Adrien rubbed the top of his head with his finger with a smile and like the cat he is, Plagg enjoyed the moment of affection.

"Just trying to cheer you up" he admitted

And with that Adrien turned off the lights and climbed into the blankets while Plagg settled on the pillow next to him.

"Are you alright, Marinette?" Tikki asked looking at her

Marinette was sitting with her chin resting on her knees, hugging her legs.

"I'm really worried about Cat Noir. He didn't seem to keen on us meeting up tomorrow"

"You think he won't show up?"

"No he'll definitely show up but asking him relive and remember what happened might not be such a good idea" she felt a wave of guilt wash over her

"Putting the pieces together will hurt both of you-you didn't exactly come out of it unscathed- but it's necessary to know why he was Akumatised and make sure it doesn't happen again. Ladybug and Cat Noir need each other."

"Yeah you're right Tikki, we need to do this to move forward" she said while climbing into her blankets and eventually nodding off to sleep.

_The sky was blacked out by plumes of smoke, buildings on fire, debris everywhere, frantic and terrified screams filled the streets._

_Beads of sweat ran down his face as he struggled to breathe the hot air around him, running down the chaotic Parisian streets. Adrien was looking around him for the source of all this destruction. Unlike everyone else who ran away from the explosions and toppling buildings, he ran towards them, he needed to stop whomever was attacking. Even though nobody would stop and stare or even notice if he transformed right where he was, he still went to find a place to hide to transform._

_Once clad in his hero outfit he raced to the rooftops, following the path of destruction. There was someone just ahead of him covered in a black cloak, he'd just reduced the Eiffel Tower to a pile of rusted metal, not caring in the slightest about the people still on it. Their screams followed by the thunderous crash and deafening silence would haunt him forever. _

_How could someone do such a thing? He could feel the anger rising inside him, almost trembling with rage. Just as he jumped to the next building a streak of red whizzed past him._

_Ladybug._

_He felt relief wash over him as she'd caught up to the mysterious villain and began fighting him, buying time for people in the area to escape. Cat Noir put in all he could to catch up. He launched himself forward and extended his staff to hit the enemy but he jumped out the way just in time._

"_Any idea who this is milady?"_

"_I have no clue but he needs to be stopped" they both stood ready in a fighting stance_

_They both raced in to fight at the same time. Their enemy was ready as well blocking every kick and punch and evaded with ease. This way of fighting looked very familiar to Cat Noir and filled him with a sense of dread. He re-focused and lunged with his staff but he cloaked villain grabbed on to it and kicked Cat Noir back. What a powerful kick that was, Cat struggled to get back up again._

_Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around him and he fell to the ground without a struggle. Ladybug slowly moved in closer._

_He didn't even try to avoid her yo-yo, he just stood there and let her wrap him up. _

_Something's off. _

_He concluded as he stood up and looked over to their enemy. Beneath the hood of his cloak he could see a smirk._

"_Ladybug, stay back!" he yelled but it was too late_

_The yo-yo was close enough to his hand that he could grab it and it turned to ash, the string around him crumbled as well._

"_That looks like a Cataclysm!" he looked in shock at the black energy around his enemy's hand_

"_It's about time you noticed" the hooded enemy stood up and grabbed Ladybug and pinned her arms behind her back and held his Cataclysm hand close to her face. She tried to struggle free but it was no use._

"_Get your hands off her!" Cat Noir charged forward_

"_But you're the one who's really hurting her, Cat Noir" he took off his black cloak and underneath it was him, another Cat Noir but with red eyes_

"_What is this? Copy Cat again or someone else?" all the fear and dread he'd suppressed earlier came right back. He was looking at, himself. How could he be in two places at once, granted he knew he was dreaming but it did little to comfort him_

"_That would make you feel better wouldn't it? If it was someone else but I think we we both know you know it's really you. Under this you're, or rather, we're Adrien" _

"_I don't understand"_

"_I'm just reminding you of what you're so desperately trying to run away from, what you're trying to forget. You were Akumatised, you did all this, you hurt all those people and you enjoyed all of it" he brought his hand even closer to her face and singed some of her loose hanging hair. _

"_Stop it, please!" he begged and saw the fear in her eyes before she squeezed them shut_

"_You need to understand, Cat Noir, you're a monster..." he turned her around and kissed her then pulled away "And innocence has no place in the presence of monsters" he raised his right hand_

"_No, don't do it!" he screamed and ran for him but he wasn't fast enough, his evil counterpart struck Ladybug with his cataclysm fist right in the stomach. She let out a loud pained cry before falling to the ground doubled over in excruciating pain._

_Cat Noir felt tears stinging the corners of his eyes as he couldn't seem to move fast enough like something was keeping him in place. He'd been running for so long but he hadn't moved at all, forced to watch himself strike the woman he loved with his devastating power. And he knew first hand what a Cataclysm to the ribs felt like._

"_Pay attention Adrien, this one is for keeps" he turned Ladybug over so she was lying on her back. She was unconscious but the tear streaks could be seen even from the distance the real Cat Noir was at._

"_Just leave her alone, please. You've already hurt her enough" he was on his knees trembling, trying to catch his breath, he couldn't stomach watching anymore of this._

"_You don't know the half of it. I'm surprised she's just unconscious but I'll fix that" he got down on one knee and raised his hand again, made the Cataclysm bigger then dropped his hand at an incredible speed._

"_No, Ladybug!"_

Adrien shot up in bed and looked around him, he was panting -his chest was tight, desperately gasping for air- and he was soaked in sweat. He was in his room, the floor to ceiling windows, the couch and the TV, his computer desk. He was in his room.

Safe.

He took out his phone from under his pillow, almost two a.m.

He got out of bed and went to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water. He looked into the mirror at his dripping reflection, his cheeks were slightly flushed and his eyes red. He held up his hand, he was trembling. He sighed heavily before sinking to the floor and letting his tears, he'd been fighting back, flow.

The sounds of his sobs woke the little black kwami.

"Adrien, what happened? Are you alright?"

"It was a nightmare, a really bad one" he leaned back against the cabinet "It felt so real" he stood up and walked out and headed to the window. "I think I need to get some air" he looked down at his ring for what felt like the longest time. He was his own antagonist in that nightmare and the very power he was about to access just caused him so much pain.

"Adrien..." Plagg was troubled by the serious look on his chosens face

He took a deep breath before saying his command and transforming. He looked at his reflection in the window, at himself as Cat Noir staring right back at him. He felt nauseated at what the evil nightmare version of himself was capable of. He tried to shake off those feelings before leaping out the window. The cool air flying over him felt good, he definitely needed this.

Marinette woke up abruptly, her hand clutching her stomach.

"Marinette, were you crying?" a concerned Tikki asked, floating right in front of her

Marinette looked at her in confusion before wiping her cheek and indeed feeling tears escape her eyes.

"I think I was having a nightmare but I don't remember any of it now"

"But the way you were holding your stomach just now..."

"Yeah I know, it's right where I got hit...by Cat Noir while he was Akumatised. I think I was having a nightmare about yesterday, I wonder if he was too. He was so scared and hurt when we talked" she got out of bed

"Where are you going?" Tikki asked following her up to her balcony

"Back to the top of the building where we fought. I feel like I have to" she looked at her kwami before transforming and off she went.

Neither knowing they were headed to the same place. Ladybug and Cat Noir were about to meet.

* * *

And that is the end of chapter 2, hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to leave a review, fave and follow if you want more.

Well that's it from me,

Please stay safe and stay inside

Ketsui Tasogare :-)


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey everyone, hope you're all doing well-or as well as anyone can be during these scary times. Here is the next chapter and I really enjoyed writing this chapter especially the second half of this chapter and I hope you'll enjoy reading it. But enough talks for now: enjoy...**

**Disclaimer: I totally do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir**

* * *

Chapter 3: Consolation

He'd landed on the rooftop and put his staff away. Everything was so quiet around him, not even a gentle breeze to sweep up anything. He looked up at the brilliant full moon that seemed to take up so much of the sky and just radiate its beautiful shimmery light. Cat Noir walked over to edge and sat where he usually did when he and Ladybug decided to watch sunsets together. Feet dangling over the edge and swaying them slightly to the tune of a song he was humming, he was lost in thought.

The distinct sound of wire whizzing through the air and wrapping around a structure caught his attention. He stood up and turned around and to his surprise there she stood, Ladybug had just landed. They looked at each other for the longest time without saying a word. The full moon behind him outlined his silhouette and cast a shadow right at her feet. He'd jumped down and walked closer to her but stayed a reasonable distance away.

"Ladybug, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question, Kitty and why the distance?" she took a step closer but he took a step back

"I...had a nightmare and needed to clear my head so here I am"

"That's a coincidence because that's the same reason I'm here. But I don't really remember what happened in mine, well except..." she trailed off and looked down and put her hand over her stomach. She saw his shoulders slump slightly. "And when I woke up I had this feeling that I had to come back here, seems I was right to"

"I think I can guess what happened in your nightmare."

"You wanna tell me about it?" she walked over to him

Cat Noir took a deep sigh before taking a seat, Ladybug followed suit.

He told her the whole story but couldn't find it in him to tell her how it ended but she could tell he was holding something back.

"What happened next? After this evil Cat Noir struck me down?" the words felt foreign on her lips. He was her partner and far from evil.

"I begged him to stop but he just seemed to enjoy watching me in pain. H e told me to pay attention and that the next blow was for keeps, and then he, I-I..." his voice was trembling

She put her hand on his shoulder. She'd heard enough. "You don't have to say it" tears were forming in her eyes he'd been through so much in such a short amount of time.

"Do you ever wish things had turned out differently? That you had a different partner, a perfect Cat Noir?"

"No, never. I'm certainly not perfect, not at all. And there's no such thing as a perfect Cat Noir, my partner right now, I wouldn't change a thing about him"

"Even though I-

"We both know what happened yesterday but for some reason I'm the only one of us who believes it wasn't your fault. I definitely couldn't do all this without you and I would never want to or change partners. We're a team, we've done so much together, we've both made mistakes and you've always been there for me and I'm here for you now" she closed the distance between them

"Milady I just can't" his fingers were twirling his ring

"Cat, what are you-

"It's better if I don't have it anymore, safer for you" he was about to rip off his ring without warning but Ladybug immediately rushed in and put her hand over his.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" she looked up at him, her hands still in his

"All I wanted was to fight along side the girl I love and keep her safe. I can't do that anymore."

"What does that mean? Is there something you're not telling me?"

"It doesn't matter anymore, I'm not Cat Noir"

She felt a sharp pain in her chest. She knew there was nothing more she could say to him and she could hear the pain in his voice as well. As much as he was hurting, his mind was made up.

The two heroes got ready to go, the last time they'd be travelling together. A sad realisation for them both. They zoomed through the air and from building to building until they got to their usual break-off point. They landed on the roof and looked at each other. Cat Noir walked over to her, his eyes glistening and full of sadness, her hopeful stunning blue eyes stated back at him.

"Goodbye Ladybug" he kissed her cheek

"This isn't our last time together so I wont say goodbye but see you soon Cat Noir"

"Milady…" he was surprised when she put her arms around him in a warm hug before returning the gesture

"You'll always be Cat Noir to me" she kissed him back on the cheek "See you soon, Kitty" she smiled before taking off

He stood still and watched her until he couldn't see her anymore before taking off and heading home.

Marinette climbed down from her balcony and sat on her bed staring out into nothing, her mind racing. She put her hand on her chest and felt tears welling up in her eyes. She buried her face in her pillow as tears left her eyes. She didn't expect it to hurt so bad, but the realisation that she may never see her partner again hit her like a ton of bricks. Their relationship had changed into something much more than just a hero team: they'd watched sunsets together, shared ice cream, had deep late night conversations after missions. They'd become very close friends, and more recently even more than that, though they weren't ones for labels.

"I'm sure you'll see him again"

"I hope so, Tikki" she said wiping her tears and climbing into bed

"I've never had a Cat Noir like you, y'know kid?"

"So you've said" Adrien looked at his ring "I just feel like I've let you down"

"You're making me sound like a saint, Adrien. I don't blame you at all"

"Even so I'm still responsible. The damage may have been fixed by Ladybug but I'm sure the fear hasn't. People put their trust in us to keep them safe, that no matter how many villains there are, they can trust Ladybug and Cat Noir to save the day. A lot of people trusted Cat Noir especially Ladybug, my partner, my..." he wasn't quite sure what he'd call them now "And now all it took was one slip up and all that work gone"

"Are you sure you're not just giving up on yourself too fast? What about all the freedom you got as Cat Noir? Can you really give it up so easily?"

"This isn't easy at all but if giving it up means people are safer then I'm going back to life as Adrien full time" he said with finality before climbing into bed and turning off his lamp

Plagg heaved a heavy sigh before settling on the pillow next to him.

The following morning was dull and overcast, a fitting type of weather for how both teens were feeling. It was during lunchtime that Marinette was sitting on her own on the staircase drawing in her sketchbook, trying to distract her mind, when Adrien came by.

"Hey Marinette, are you alright?" he asked taking a seat next to her

"Adrien, yeah I'm fine. Why do you ask?" she closed her book and set it aside

"Well I noticed you looked pretty down when you came in this morning so I thought I'd check in"

"Was it that obvious?" she sighed heavily "It's just..." she paused before carrying on, she couldn't tell him exactly what was going on but a good talk from a concerned and caring friend would definitely help her at the moment.

"Someone really close to me is going through an incredibly hard time. Something happened and he wasn't exactly...himself and he did some terrible things as a result. In the end he got back to his normal self and the incident was solved but he can't seem to move on from it, I tried talking to him but he has his mind made up that he doesn't deserve forgiveness, he's given up on himself in a way" she slouched her shoulders

Adrien looked at her for a while thinking over her words, they were so familiar, but surely it didn't mean...no of course not…right?

"Sounds like quite a situation. Maybe he's just afraid of hurting the people he loves, if he really did do those terrible things while he wasn't himself. Could be that he wants to protect them all, keep what happened from ever happening again" he quickly snapped out of it realising he may have said a little too much and hoping she hadn't heard that last part. Judging by her non reaction, she might not have. "Sounds like you care about him a great deal" he gave her a small smile

"I do" she smiled as she responded and an image of him popped in her head

"Do you love him?" Adrien asked, a little more curious to know the answer than he'd care to admit

"Yeah I do" the answer came so naturally to her as if her heart answered before her mouth and brain could decide

"Did you tell him that?"

"No, it just didn't seem like the right time to do it considering what had happened"

"I think the next time you see him you should. It still may not be the right time but at least he'll know. And who knows, it might just change everything."

It was the end of the day and the sun almost completely set, Adrien was in his room. He stood in front of his window staring out at the buildings in sight. He could see some of the ones he'd jumped across while travelling across the city. He knew the time and definitely knew she was out there most probably with one of the other heroes. How are you Milady? I hope you're safe on patrol. I can't even describe how difficult it is being on the sidelines while you're out there. Are you better off without me? Did I make the right choice? Are you thinking about me at all, the way I'm thinking of you right now?

Ladybug had gone on patrol with Rena Rouge. The city was quiet, thank goodness, Ladybug didn't know if she had it in her to deal with a villain this soon after losing her partner. The two heroines stopped atop the Eiffel Tower and looked to the lit up city below. Ladybug was lost in thought. The sun had just set; the darkening sky above just reminded her of him more and more. Seeing how small everything was from so high up made her wonder what he was up to. What was he doing at that very moment? Was he missing the life he gave up? Was he missing her as much as she was missing him? Could he be one of the civilians down there looking up at the metal structure she was currently on? She was pulled from her thoughts by Rena waving her hand in front of her face.

"You alright?" Rena asked and offered a concerned smile

"Yeah, sorry I'm—I'm good" Ladybug was resting her arms on the rails before she'd looked up and answered

"Thinking about the Kitty? How is he?" she asked and leaned her back against the railing looking at Ladybug

"I wish I could say better. Being Akumatised struck a huge blow on him"

"I completely know how that feels, I don't judge him at all." she sighed remembering her own experience "You know the wax museum just added in a hall of villains, I went there recently with some friends and seeing the statue of myself, of Lady Wi-Fi, it was hard to face. It was hard to accept that that was a part of me, that I'd also done some bad things, like trying to take your Miraculous..."

"How did you move on from it?" Ladybug remembered that day when Puppeteer had returned but she had no idea that Alya had this experience because she'd had her own experience with Adrien that day

"My boyfriend gave me a new perspective, he told me not to see it as room full of bad people but rather a room full of people that you and Cat Noir saved"

"And now look at you, an amazing hero ready to protect the city. That's some great advice" she smiled and put her arm around her. Rena put her arm around Ladybug to complete the side hug

"If you get the chance I think you should give him that perspective too. Being Akumatised is like a cry for help, it happens because you're going through something that you couldn't face on your own that Hawk Moth preys on and you need Ladybug and Cat Noir to help you overcome it."

"Wow that's...I've never thought of it that way-" just as Ladybug was about to continue the familiar beeping indicating that their time was almost up beat her to it.

The two of them headed for lower ground and eventually to the spot where she'd given Rena her Miraculous.

"Thank you for the advice by the way. I'll definitely let Cat know if I see him again"

"Uh uh, _when_ you see him again" she shook her head and smiled before embracing Ladybug in a hug "I'll always be here if you need me but I think the city needs their top duo back" she said as she removed the Fox pendant and gave it back to her, no longer Rena Rouge standing in front of her but Alya "See you later, Trixx. Goodbye Ladybug."

Feeling a lot lighter after that much needed conversation with Rena she was determined once more. She had hope again, she could help him through this. She would see her partner again and tell him everything and she was excited about it.

* * *

**And that's chapter three totally done! What did you think, let me know with a comment and like and follow if you wanna see how it'll end eventually. Also side note, that conversation between Rena and Ladybug was completely unplanned, like I was planning for them to go on patrol together and that's it but as soon as I got to that paragraph the words just flowed out of me and now it's my fave part of this chapter. Anyways...**

**Until the next chapter-**

**Ketsui Tasogare :-)**


	4. Chapter 4: Us Against The World

**And I am back again with the next chapter. Hope everyone is staying safe and adjusting to this new normal as best they can. Interestingly enough as I was working on chapter five of this story, I was also thinking about possibly doing a sequel to this, not sure if I'll go through with it though, depends on my planning and if I can think up enough content to sustain an entire new set of chapters but I'm deffs considering it. Just thought I'd let you guys know.**

**Anyways let's get on with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I so do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir.**

* * *

Chapter 4: Us Against the World

Adrien was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling, thinking, about everything, about nothing, just countless thoughts rushing though his head. Though he had no memory of the specific terrible deeds he'd done while being taken over, the one thing that played over and over in his head was Ladybug confirming that he had indeed fulfilled his worst nightmare.

He'd struck her.

After getting and properly learning about his powers, Adrien made a promise to himself that he'd never use them to hurt or subdue anyone. Not even the Akumatised villains. Destroy their weapons or armour on their bodies or wherever the Akuma was hiding sure but _never_ directly use it on someone. And after feeling a Cataclysm punch first hand thanks to Miraculer, he was motivated even more to keep his promise, no one should ever feel that type of pain and he would never want to use it that way. The hit had almost knocked him out completely, the shock and agony that followed was blinding as if pain itself was coursing through his veins, spreading to each part of his body, instead of his blood. He'd felt like his insides were on fire everytime he moved and that his lungs would explode whenever he took a breath.

_In all honesty, the fact that I was able to move at all let alone fight is nothing shy of miraculous._

Truly a feeling he'd never forget. He felt tears sting the corners of his eyes knowing that that is the exact experience he'd dealt Ladybug while being Hawk Moth's puppet and she had to fight through that pain on her own without the other heroes to back her up unlike the way it had been for him. He hated himself for it.

"I'm no hero, just a monster" he basically whispered in his empty room and looked at the Miraculous box sitting on his desk

He didn't want to sit alone with his thoughts anymore and going out as Cat Noir was out of the question although the temptation was definitely there. He took out his phone and scrolled through his contacts. Nino? No. Saturday nights usually meant he was with Alya. Chloe…? He kept scrolling. As much as he'd appreciate surface level conversation as a distraction from his thoughts, he needed something a little deeper.

Marinette. Of course. There was always something about their friendship that went way deeper than surface level, he was able to be more than himself when talking to her. He pressed dial…

It rang four times and still nothing, maybe she was busy? Just as he was about to hang up the call connected.

"Hello?" her familiar friendly voice greeted

"Hey, Marinette" relief washing over him hearing her voice

"Adrien, hey what's up?" she practically beamed at this happy surprise. She was so focused on her work that she'd answered without checking who was calling

"Just felt like calling a friend. Are you busy?" he shyly asked hoping he wasn't disturbing her afterall she could've had her own plans but he needed to get some stuff off his chest

"No I just finished off working on one of my designs, you called at the right time." he could hear her tapping her pencil on the desk

"Another Marinette classic. I still have the hat you made, it's one of my favourites." he'd got up from his bed and walked over to his window looking out at the stars as he spoke

"Really? You still have it?"

"Of course, now it's just missing a jacket to match. As one of the best designers in Paris, it shouldn't be too hard, right?" he joked. Their friendly banter did wonders for his mood. Just hearing her voice made him feel like he could take on anything, he never realised just how much he enjoyed speaking to her and how she lifted him from even the darkest moments.

"Of course not. I'll get right on it, sir" she replied sarcastically with a bit of cheek. She had her moments with Adrien. When in front of him she would usually stumble over her words but, even those moments were becoming fewer and fewer and, when over the phone she could be just as playful as he was being without worry.

They both laughed and a comfortable silence befell them.

"It's good to hear you laugh" she started, her voice soothing

"What do you mean?"

"I get the feeling that you called for more than just funny banter. Like something's bothering you." she sounded serious

"Guess it's my turn to use this line: is it that obvious?" he rubbed the back of his neck

"As your close friend its my job to notice these things. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I've just had a lot on my mind lately" he sighed

"Like what?"

"Well...the people that Hawk Moth Akumatises, do you think they're to blame for what happens?" he was asking a tricky question but he wanted, no, needed to hear her perspective to put him at ease or feel worse. He didn't know but he needed to hear her answer.

There was a moment of silence from her. His heart was racing. What was she thinking? Should he have changed the subject?

"Marinette?"

"Sorry, I'm still here. Your question just surprised me. And to answer you, no I don't think they are. The way I see it, Hawk Moth is just using them as pawns to get to Ladybug and Cat Noir. They're the ones physically fighting the heroes but only because their negative emotions were manipulated. People don't really think properly when they're overcome with emotions."

He felt a weight lift off his chest when he heard her response.

"No I guess not. That's a new way of seeing things."

"Why do you ask by the way?"

"I was just thinking, what if I ever got Akumatised?" he felt uncomfortable speaking about it since it had already happened

"That's not going to happen" she could basically feel his unease through the phone

"But what if it did?" he said with a little more panic in his voice than he meant to

"Then Ladybug and Cat Noir would help you." she tried to calm him down but there was something in his words that made her feel uneasy as well

"But Cat Noir isn't around anymore, what if Ladybug can't help me?" he was letting out too much…

_I need to stop talking or else_...but he couldn't stop himself.

"He'll be back, I know he will. And she would definitely save you no matter what. I'd even jump in to save you if I could. Adrien, where is this coming from? Are you-

"What if you guys can't do it or I hurt you? Maybe I just can't be saved _milady_-

_Dammit!_

Dead silence on both ends.

Adrien nearly dropped his phone. He'd gotten too comfortable, opened up too much. Her voice was so comforting, honest and so warm just like Ladybug's that he slipped. His heart was racing in his chest and felt like it was going burst right out him. He was still in front of the window but crouched down to catch his breath. _What have I done?!_ All he could do was hope, _pray_, that she didn't catch his mistake but judging from how quiet it was for this long, obviously meant that she knew something. He had to do something to salvage the situation, move on from it quickly.

"Marinette, I-"

"I can't believe this...Cat Noir...you're Adrien…and hearing you talk now, I can't believe I didn't hear it sooner." she let out a long sigh and a heavy silence just as long followed. She felt like her head was spinning, her eyes wide in surprise but at the same time she was frozen in shock. _This is unbelievable, __of all the people __never would I have thought this._

"No, I..." he sighed "I can't lie to you..." he surrendered

Another moment of silence.

"As complicated as this makes things, I'm glad you didn't" she finally spoke again

"I know I can trust you. I know I shouldn't have, I might be putting you in danger but I just didn't want to lie to you." he looked at his reflection in the window, completely oblivious to the fact that she revealed a clue as well.

"And I don't want to do the same to you either."

"What does that mean?"

"I believe in you, you know." she tried to reassure him

"What?" he as genuinely confused

"You'll always be Cat Noir to me." she knew what she was doing

He froze. He'd heard those words before. It's impossible but then again coincidences like this don't exist. It had to be true. She couldn't lie about this.

"It can't be,... Milady?" he asked carefully. He felt like he was dreaming

"Hey, Kitty." she said confirming his thoughts "And since everything's out now, I would save you no matter what, both sides of me. I just wish you'd come back."

"You've got the others to help you save the city."

"It's not the same. They're all great heroes but without us, there wouldn't be them. You'll always be my partner, we started this together, it was always-

"-Us against the world." they said in unison and knew they were both smiling

"And things started changing between us, we weren't just partners anymore." Marinette started

"We got close, we _are_ close." he had a sad smile

"Very close. I don't know what we are and I don't know what to call us but I just know it's special, more than I let myself believe." she admitted

"And that made my decision to leave that much harder." he sighed after and ran a hand through his hair

"And hurt just as bad as fighting you did. You insist that I can do this without you and maybe I can but, I don't _want_ to" the sadness in her voice, her words were so heavy they almost hurt him

He thought over her words for a bit.

"It's getting pretty late, I'll see you soon. Goodnight, Cat Noir"

"Goodnight, Ladybug" finding no way of arguing with her he just sighed with a smile and responded before hanging up

Marinette woke up the next morning feeling rather pensive. Had last night's conversation really happened? Had Ladybug and Cat Noir truly revealed themselves to each other? She took her phone out from under her bed and gone through her call log. There it was staring at her, their hour and a half conversation from last night.

"Was it really a good idea to tell him your identity like that, Marinette?" the red and black Kwami floated right in front of her

"I had to, Tikki, you should have heard him. He slipped up, he told me his secret by accident and when I conformed it was him he sounded so defeated. I couldn't just carry on like everything was normal. Asking me about being Akumatised and about Ladybug when I _am_ Ladybug, I just had to. He's still hurting and afraid it'll happen again"

"I'm just saying you two are going to have to be a lot more careful, especially when you're at school together"

"We will be. No one can know that we've found out about each other. Especially not Hawk Moth." she said with finality before climbing out of bed and heading to the bathroom to shower

It was early evening, Marinette was finishing up her homework when she felt the ground shake beneath her. She looked around her room. Another tremor and a few items fell off her desk and on to the floor. She had a bad feeling about this. She got out of her chair and climbed up to her balcony and took out her phone to check if there was any news. She looked around the city and was shocked at what she saw.

"Guess I won't need my phone to find out what's going on" she was surprised to see two cars floating in mid air near Le Grand Paris hotel. One of them suddenly fell to the ground causing a loud booming crash followed by another tremor "This is definitely trouble, Tikki, spots on" she yelled and transformed into Ladybug. She took a deep breath before leaping off the balcony and headed to the source. _I sure hope I can do this on my own._

Adrien had felt the tremors as well and saw the news report. Somewhere in the city someone had been Akumatised. He clenched his hand into a fist and raised it a little surprised that there was no ring. He'd forgotten he'd removed it and instinctively ran to his desk to retrieve the box from the drawer he'd put it in. Relief fell over him as he saw his power but he found himself hesitating as if just touching the box itself would be dangerous for him. His crushing fears holding him back, keeping his hand from moving any closer to it. The voices in his head blaming him for everything paralysed him.

Ladybug's heart was racing as she leapt closer and closer to the source of trouble and the thick rain clouds rolling in did little to ease her feelings of unease. As soon as she arrived, the villain spotted her. He was tall, his skin red, with long blue hair all spiked up wearing an all black bodysuit and his arms had silver blasters on them. The blaster on his left had the number twenty-five written on it while the one on his right arm had the number twenty-four.

"Ah, Ladybug, I was wondering when you'd arrive. I am Heavy Hitter." he boasted a large smile and snapped his fingers and a bright light came from the remaining car that was floating at the height she was standing on the roof. There was a red metallic ball on the roof of the car but as soon as Heavy Hitter snapped his fingers, the ball lit up then turned blue and the car sank like a stone and crashed into the ground, leaving a large crack. Once the dust settled, the blue ball rose up and went back into the right blaster and the number on it changed to twenty-five.

There was something off about the damage caused by the falling car. Sure it was heavy enough to crack the ground especially from the height it fell from but the size of that crack looked like it could have been caused by a truck, not a small car. There was more to his power than at first glance, she held her yo-yo ready to defend, she needed more information before charging in.

"You seem confused about my powers, Ladybug. Perhaps a demonstration would help would help"

"How's about an explanation instead. What do you want?" she tried to hide her unease

"You trying to distract me while your little cat friend attacks when my guard is down?"

"You're dealing with me today, _just_ me" it hurt her to say it

"Well that doesn't help me much, I need both Miraculous for Hawk Moth but it's fine. If kitty's a coward I'll just have to force him out of hiding" he aimed both his blasters at her and fired

Ten red metallic balls came flying at her at great speed. She blocked two with her yo-yo but they were moving too fast. She started running over the roof tops but Heavy Hitter was chasing after her. The balls smashed through anything and everything in their way. Ladybug swung lower towards the streets, she'd landed on a street lamp but one of them smashed right through it as she landed on it. The ball then struck the lamp again before it stuck itself on the broken street lamp and turned blue and suddenly the lamp fell to ground much faster and cracked into the ground as well almost breaking underground.

"That's impossible, it did as much damage as the car. And just like last time, it happened after the ball turned blue"

"Finally getting how my powers work?"

"You can manipulate the weight of an object, make them heavier than what they are"

"Well done but, you're only half right. When they're red they travel incredibly fast and basically light as air and everytime they hit something they double its weight with every strike. Then when they turn blue they activate all that added weight and whatever they stick themselves to will sink instantly, unable to maintain the new weight. I'm curious to see how this will work on people. It's about time they know how it feels to be tossed around and thrown and beaten into the dirt" he said with a scowl

"So this is revenge on all the people who beat and picked on you?" she asked trying to catch her breath

"They deserve it afterall. Stay out of my way. No one will ever mess with me again, they will all bow to me"

"Not a chance" she stood ready to fight

"You won't be talking so brave once I have your Miraculous!" he sent another wave of the metallic balls her way but not just one or two—he'd sent them all.

Ladybug dodged, evaded and blocked as best she could all while trying to get closer to him. It would be easier to take him on in hand-to-hand instead of fighting all these targets. Three of them narrowly missed her legs as she swung around the city. She flipped through he air and landed on the ground and took off on foot. If she couldn't get to him from above, she'd try from below. She ducked to avoid one that just flew over her head, one missed her hip and another narrowly missed her cheek. She paused to catch her breath but that didn't last long. It was too dangerous for her to be travelling anything under her top speed and her top speed was swinging with her yo-yo.

She unclipped it from her hip and took off into the air. She looked back at the street she'd just left. The damage was severe, the mini wrecking balls had smashed up a lot in the vicinity, lamp posts car doors and mirrors even broken shards of glass had added weight and left cracks in the ground. Ladybug heard a loud boom, she didn't know if it was thunder from the clearly approaching storm or some object with now added weight slamming into the ground.

She could hear the blood rushing in her ears and her heart was racing, fear taking over. There was no way she could do this all on her own. She was nowhere closer to hitting him than when she'd started and trying to avoid his entire arsenal while trying to engage him was proving too difficult. It was only a matter of time until one of the balls hit and grounded her. She was out of moves.

"Wait a minute, I still haven't used my, Lucky Char-" a bolt of lightning blinded her momentarily and as soon as she regained her vision she'd felt something hit her arm and leg

"Oh no!" she panicked when the two balls stuck to her and turned blue

"Oh yes" Heavy Hitter smiled wickedly

As if someone had tied a rope around her foot and pulled with a mighty force, she plummeted to the ground and slammed painfully into the roof of a building. She'd landed on her right side, her arm taking most of the blow. She screamed in pain and tears formed at the edges of her eyes as she tried to sit up but she couldn't move the right side of her body. She slowly moved her head to check and was shocked to see a ball attached to her ankle and another on her right shoulder—both were blue.

"How does that feel, Ladybug? The right side of your body is now twice your body weight. You won't be getting up any time soon." he gave a toothed smile

Beads of sweat fell down her face. She struggled as hard as she could but she couldn't get up, her yo-yo was pinned under her so she couldn't even get it with her left hand. She was breathing heavily. She was completely defenseless. She tried to kick the ball off her ankle with her free left foot but the ball was basically glued to her, it wasn't moving at all.

_Think, Ladybug, think, it's only a matter of time until he…_

"I do hate to see a struggling animal. I should just put you out of your misery" he landed on the roof she was on. A few of the balls he hadn't sent after her were circling around him. He took one of them and loaded it into his blaster—the number changed from zero to one. He aimed at her and fired. He'd shot it straight at her left shoulder at an even greater speed than the first one that hit her. Like being shot with a canon ball, the pain it struck her with was unbearable. Her tears left her eyes, the pain too great. He made it bounce on her shoulder twice more. Her screams only seemed to make him smile and she definitely heard something crack. She wouldn't be a surprised if the bone was fractured. He made the ball turn blue as it landed on her shoulder. The weight was crushing her. Since both arms had been struck, the balanced weight made her lie on her back, the sheer force of the added weight was like a ton of bricks thrown on top of her, crushing her to the floor. It was a paralysing weight. She grit her teeth and was barely able to open her eyes, even breathing was a task, the pressure on her chest was immense. She flinched when she felt a droplet land on her forehead. It was drizzling.

"Taking your Miraculous will be easier than I thought." he said standing right in front of her "This was fun but it's time to go. Goodbye, Ladybug" he crouched next to her face and reached for her earrings

_No it can't be like this!_ She screamed in her head and tried to move her body to no avail and her head could only move so much. She felt her fear more sharply than her pain. She shut her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

But it never came.

She heard Heavy Hitter exclaim in pain and fall back.

She opened her eyes and saw someone standing in front of her. Heavy Hitter had been knocked to the ground. Her eyes went back to the person in front of her, black suit and a silver staff. It couldn't be.

"How's about you keep your hands to yourself" Cat Noir stood ready to fight

"C-Cat Noir" she released the breath she never knew she was holding, relieved that he was here.

* * *

**Ah cliffhangers, the things that make you want to punch a wall (well I know that's true for me at least) but also keep coming back cuz you need to know what happened to your faves. That's the end of this chapter, I hope y'all enjoyed it. Leave a review (I'd really appreciate it XD), like and follow to keep up. I'd finished this a while ago and just kept going with the other chapters but I really enjoyed this, the return of Cat Noir finally and their reveal. I've read a lot of fics with different ways of them revealing themselves but I hadn't read one that had an over the phone reveal. They probs exist, I just haven't read them so I wanted to try it out.**

**Well that's it from me-**

**Until the next chapter:**

**Ketsui Tasogare :-)**


	5. Aftermath

**Omg I feel like such a dweeb, it's been so long since I updated this story and chapter five has been sitting here on my laptop totally completed...I just forgot to upload it. Luckily when I was uploading my DBS story I saw Akumatised and was like wait, lemme put up the new chapter, geez wow. Well anyways here's the next chapter. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Miraculous doesn't belong to me.**

* * *

Chapter 5: Aftermath

He rushed over to her immediately. It was properly raining as he crouched down beside her. There was a look in his eyes she noticed as he was looking at the blue balls stuck to her. He struck the first one with such a force that it cracked in half and fell off her and did the same to the other two. She'd never seen him so angry. To avoid straining her arm to help her up he instead picked her up and gently put her on her feet.

"I thought you said..." she started, trying to regain her balance

"I know what I said but we'll have to talk after. Are you going to be alright?" he looked in her eyes

"I'll be fine and you're right" she got some of her resolve back

"I'm sorry I didn't get here earlier"

"What matters is that you're here now" she said holding on to her left arm "We've got work to do, Lucky Charm!" she called on her special power. She winced in pain when she reached up to catch it "A candle, what am I supposed to do with this in the rain?" she sighed in disbelief. Well no point in complaining about it. She looked around her to see where on earth this candle would be put to use. Heavy Hitter was getting back up and recalling the red balls back into his blasters. She took a closer look at the candle then at the blasters. Seems the rain was on their side after all, it looked like steam or smoke was rising from the blasters. _They're giving off heat._

"Cat Noir, I've got a plan. I need you to clear me a path"

"Lay it on me, Milady. What's the plan?"

She explained everything to him, her plan and how Heavy Hitter's powers worked and he got it perfectly. He readied his staff and watched Heavy Hitter take aim at him. He smirked before running straight for him.

Heavy Hitter fired in a straight line right for him but Cat Noir expertly dodged all of them and got closer and closer to him. Cat ducked and one just missed his cat ears, another narrowly missed his foot and he slid under a third one and slid right past Heavy Hitter but, he wasn't about to let Cat Noir slide right past him without taking a shot. He aimed right at his chest-

Just as Cat planned.

"Now Ladybug!" he yelled and kicked Heavy Hitter's arm up so it was pointing at Ladybug who was right in front of him. She was running behind Cat Noir who was the distraction and needed him to fire so that the blaster would heat up. Before Heavy Hitter could react Ladybug shoved the candle into his blaster. The candle fit the shaft perfectly and due to the heat trying to escape it slightly started melting the wax of the candle, enough to make it too difficult to remove.

Heavy Hitter looked beyond furious.

"I'll make you both pay for that. I can still beat you with one blaster. Starting with the mangy cat!" he turned to face Cat Noir who was still standing behind him and he fired. Cat Noir dodged but two of them hit both ends of his staff. The impact almost knocked Cat Noir off balance. They bounced off then flew right back and stuck themselves on to his staff. One stuck to one end and the other on the other.

"It's over now, Cat Noir"

"Not exactly" he stated confidently

"Your turn, Ladybug" he knew he only had few seconds. He leapt in the air right over Heavy Hitter.

Ladybug used her yo-yo to bind his hands together and Cat let go of his staff as he was right over him and just as the balls turned blue—their extra weight falling on Heavy Hitter's blasters and pinning him to the ground. A bolt of lightning flashed as his staff hit the ground. He grunted and tried to lift his arms but it was no use. He knew he'd been beaten.

"Cataclysm!" he called on his special power and ran it over the blasters and watched them crumble away as the black butterfly escaped. Ladybug undid her yo-yo and captured the butterfly and released it after cleansing it.

Her body was aching from all the movement but she was glad it all worked out. Just as she was about to set everything back to normal she felt light-headed and fell forward. Cat Noir caught her before she hit the ground.

"Maybe we should do this one together" he helped her up and held her hand with the candle in it. She smiled at him

"I think you're right—

"Miraculous Ladybug!" they both said together and threw the candle in the air and watched it explode into the ladybug's that repaired all the damage their battle caused. Ladybug sighed happily when the cure worked on her wounds as well. She felt better than ever.

"That's much better" she stretched and moved around glad that her body was no longer in so much pain.

Heavy Hitter tuned back to normal as well. He was a young man in his early twenties. He looked confused and asked what had happened. They explained it all to him and advised him to get help against the people bullying him. They helped him down from the building where the police and an ambulance were waiting.

After settling everything they met back on the rooftop. They could have had their conversation as Marinette and Adrien but it was Ladybug and Cat Noir who needed the reunion. They looked at each other for the longest time before embracing in a hug. They held each other as close as they could, both fighting back tears, the rain not bothering them in the slightest. For Ladybug the realisation of how close she was to losing her Miraculous was frightening, she'd had many close calls before but she'd never faced them completely on her own. She was beyond glad he'd shown up when he did. As for Cat Noir, the weight of what he'd given up really hit him now that he had it back. It wasn't just his freedom as Cat Noir he'd lost when he gave up the ring but also all opportunity to see and be with Ladybug, side-by-side, and helping people who needed it, and it was a sacrifice he wasn't sure he was ready to make.

"I don't think I've ever seen you so angry" she spoke with her arms still around him

"Before I arrived, before he tried taking your Miraculous, I could hear your screams. How badly he was hurting you, I couldn't stand it. Are you sure you're okay?" he looked down at her

"I'm fine really" she smiled up at him

Just as she was about to speak, the dreaded beeping beat her to it.

"I guess we're out of time" her hand instinctively went to her earring

"Ladybug and Cat Noir are but not, Adrien and Marinette"

"Maybe but, we have families who could notice we're not at home right now. We've always got time to talk—

"Tonight, let's meet again later tonight when we don't have to worry about getting caught. There's something I need to tell you and it's better face-to-face."

"Alright then, later tonight. I'll see you then." she gave his hand a squeeze before leaving and he did the same

Adrien's father was busy-as usual- so Adrien had had dinner on his own but for the first time he actually preferred it this way. After everything that had happened, he felt a lot better being on his own. He left the dining table and walked up the stairs. After clearing the first flight he looked at the large portrait of him and his father that hung above the stairs. _How things have changed. _He carried on walking and entered his room and took out his phone after sitting in his chair.

"You sure about this, Adrien?" his Kwami asked concerned

"It's now or never, Plagg. I have to tell her."

The rain continued to fall and showed no signs of letting up as Marinette helped her mother with the dishes. Once dried and packed she joined her parents in the living room for a few matches of Ultimate Mecha Strike III. She'd gotten carried away and hadn't noticed the time. It was almost ten p.m. and she took out her phone to check if Adrien had texted, he had. She excused herself after winning her final match against her father and told her parents that she was going to bed.

Once in her room she sat in her chair and opened Adrien's message.

"Meet up in 10?" his text read

"No problem. Top of the Eiffel Tower. See you there" she put her phone down and thought for a minute. What was it that he wanted to tell her? He seemed pretty serious and even insisted on face-to-face when they could have easily talked all night over the phone. She shook off her worries, turned off her lights then climbed up to her bed. From there she transformed into Ladybug and climbed to her balcony, it was still raining but that didn't discourage her at all or make the Eiffel Tower any less beautiful. In fact it just made it look better. She took in its beauty before leaping off her balcony and headed right for it. She took her time swinging up, enjoying the climb. Once she reached the railing, climbed over and put her yo-yo back on her hip.

"Any specific reason why you usually choose for us to meet here?" he'd just landed and walked over to her

"I like it up here, it feels more private." she smiled and looked at him

"I'm pretty sure the rooftop of any building late at night can be private"

"Yeah but up here we're so far from everything so it's really just the two of us" she put her hand over his and he returned her smile

The rain started to lessen. There was a moment of silence.

"Was today just a onetime thing or are you back for good?"

"I hesitated at first, just a few hours ago I didn't know either, but now after fighting together again I realised that I couldn't just walk away from all this or walk away from you. It's a part of me, Cat Noir will always be a part of me even when I'm Adrien and when I'm not wearing my ring. And nothing could change that, not even being Akumatised."

"You know what the hardest part was for me?" she started "Trying to figure out how to stop you without hurting you. You're the last person I'd ever want to fight and even after I got hit, I still didn't want to. I hated every minute of our fight. Honestly I think today's battle hurt just as bad as fighting you did especially because I knew how much it would hurt you afterwards."

"I'm not surprised by that at all. I literally hurt you so badly but you were concerned for how it would affect me" he smiled sadly

"I did learn something though..." he looked at her waiting for her to continue "That you're a lot stronger than I thought. That Cataclysm punch was dizzying to say the least, very powerful and very painful but the fact that you were able to keep fighting for as long as you did when Miraculer got you just made me remember what an amazing partner I have" she was facing him and looking into his eyes

"What good is a shield that breaks easily? I rush in and make sure you can do what needs to be done and I'll take as many hits as I need to if it means you're safe" he turned to face her as well

"Cat Noir, you're not just a shield to me. You're not expendable, you're my best friend, my partner. I can't always handle things on my own and today was proof of that. Ladybug is at her best when Cat Noir is by her side..." she took a step closer to him "Or in this case, right in front of her" she leaned in and kissed him. His eyes were wide in surprise but he quickly recovered and put his arms around her, closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss as she moved her arms around his neck.

He never thought this day would come. Warm bodies pressed together in the light rain, arms around each other and her fragrance washed over him while their lips connected passionately. He was tingling on the inside and his heart was racing.

Ladybug didn't know what she was thinking diving into the kiss like that but she knew she didn't regret it. His arms around her made her feel lighter than air and just wanted to be held tighter, to be even closer than they already were. And as for his lips against hers, his soft pillowy lips making her heart flutter, a feeling she never wanted to stop and a feeling they'd both definitely wanted for a very long time.

She slowly pulled away from his lips, almost unwillingly, like being taken out of a dream or the end of a spell enchanting them, they both opened their eyes slowly. They looked at each other before embracing.

"Sorry I…shouldn't have caught you off guard like that" her voice breathless and almost a whisper. Her head resting on his shoulder by the groove of her neck. He pressed his lips to the side of her neck before looking at her and brushing her wet hair away from her eyes.

"Don't apologise." he cupped her face in his hands

He held on to her once more, arms circling her waist, her back against the railing with him leaning into her. This time he kissed her. Ladybug sighed and kissed right back and it was just as delightful and passionate as the first. The exchange just as electric and heart-pumping. _Why can't I kiss you forever? _Words on both their minds.

Their breathing was in sync and their arms still around each other, Ladybug facing forward and Cat Noir's arms around her stomach and her hers over his. Their magical first kiss had ended and they were taking it in. They were looking at the city below glowing and shining in the remnants of the rain and city lights. Both silent and completely comfortable in each other's arms.

After a peaceful silence she felt him sigh heavily and his arms loosened around her. She looked up at him.

"You okay, Cat Noir?" she looked concerned

"Not really" he removed his arms from her and leaned against the railing

"Is it about the 'something' you said you were going to tell me about?"

Cat deeply sighed again.

"Remember, The Collector?" he started

"Of course I do."

"Do you remember our conversation on the roof of the school? You called me saying you had a lead on Hawk Moth's identity." he felt a weight on his chest the closer he got to the reveal

"Yeah, I thought it was Gabriel Agreste because of the pieces I'd put together with Master Fu and my own research but, I was wrong." she was confused as to how the two incidents were related

"No, you weren't wrong. You were spot on in fact. Everything you said was true, Hawk Moth is Gabriel Agreste, he is my father. Plagg found out by accident" he said with defeat in his voice

"But how's that possible if he was Akumatised?" she felt chills down her spine and it wasn't because of the cold

"He's probably able to Akumatise himself somehow, I don't know. If that hadn't happened he'd still be our top suspect, think about it. The only reason we dropped it is because of The Collector but everything else still fits. The brand logo being a butterfly, the butterfly patterns on the tiles of my house..." he was breathing heavily, almost panting, his heart racing. It was one thing going through all this in his head when he first found out, in that moment he could deny and try to rationalise everything but now, with Ladybug with him and saying it out loud made it more real.

"And the book. The one used to make potions to upgrade our Kwami's. Remember what you said about him and the book being related? I got the book from my father's secret safe"

Ladybug was speechless. Her heart sank into her stomach at all this information she was trying to digest.

"Becoming The Collector was absolutely genius, he threw us off completely and erased all suspicion, but how did he even know he needed to do that?"

"My guess is since, I, well Adrien 'lost' the book, he had no idea where it went. The fact that it wasn't in his possession anymore automatically meant he had to take action. As far as he knew it went straight to Master Fu. My father is _very_ cautious." he was gripping the railing tightly

"I don't know what to say..." she was genuinely at a loss for words, at the discovery absolutely but more pressing is what this meant for Adrien "Are you okay?" she asked again and he knew what she meant

"All this time we've been saving the city from villain's trying to get our Miraculous, all those fights meant to defeat us, defeat me, all by him. I was Akumatised by my own father…" his voice was low and almost defeated

"He doesn't know it's you and we still don't know what he wants the Miraculous for yet" she tried to comfort him

"It doesn't matter what he wants them for! The fact that he's willing to do _anything_, use anyone to get them says enough." he was furious and walked a bit away from her and could feel tears forming. There were so many emotions surging through him and he didn't know what to do about it.

"Not everyone. Adrien has never been Akumatised. You've had days where you've been overwhelmed haven't you? Yet it's never happened to you and it still hasn't which means at least in his eyes Adrien is off limits."

"But it still can. That's the whole reason I left in the first place. I'm a liability now, you can't trust me anymore."

"I trust you with my life and that's not going to change because of this. You're not a—

"He's already had Cat Noir once and he can do it again. One slip up as Adrien and I can get Akumatised as Cat Noir. That's how he got me the first time. I was so confused and hurt when I found out it was him that, I transformed and left just so I could get out of the house but my mind was still spinning and next thing I knew the Akuma was chasing me. If that ever happens again he could use me to get to you and who knows what else…why does it have to be like this? What is he doing?" he fell to his knees and let his tears fall.

Ladybug sat next to him and put her arms around him. Her heart was breaking hearing her partner cry like this. She comforted him and let her own tears fall. _He's already been through so much, why does more tragedy keep following him?_ A question she wished she could ask the universe or life itself. She didn't know what their next move was and how they were going to get through this but she knew that they would and all that mattered at that moment was being there for him, no matter how long and how many Akuma's she had to fight, she was going to be there for him and she wasn't going to let him be Akumatised ever again.

* * *

**And that concludes chapter five, I hope you enjoyed it and things are going to get more serious as the story goes on. I can't wait to get there. Just rereading this chapter and rewatching Cat Blanc a few days ago just got me back in the mood for writing this fic.**

**Well that's it from me-**

**Until the next chapter:**

**Ketsui Tasogare :-)**


End file.
